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2015 Northeast Conference Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll             1. Central Connecticut (6)             2. Fairleigh Dickinson (3)             3. Saint Francis U             4. Wagner             5. Sacred Heart             6. LIU Brooklyn             7. Bryant             8. Robert Morris             9. Mount St. Mary’s             First place votes in parentheses

Somerset, NJ -- Central Connecticut women’s soccer is back in a familiar position as the 2015 Northeast Conference preseason favorite after receiving six first place votes in the annual coaches’ poll.  The reigning NEC champions are 8-1 all-time in NEC title games and will try to add a ninth crown this fall.

Fairleigh Dickinson was tabbed second place in this year’s preseason poll.  After making an appearance in last season’s title game, the NEC regular season champion Knights claimed the remaining three first place votes.

Saint Francis and Wagner, the other two teams to qualify for the 2014 NEC Tournament, were picked third and fourth, respectively, in the preseason rankings.

Sacred Heart took the fifth slot, followed by LIU Brooklyn in sixth and Bryant in seventh. Robert Morris and Mount St. Mary’s rounded out the nine-team poll.

The majority of NEC teams will kick off their season on Friday, August 21st.  Defending champion CCSU opens its slate the following Friday, August 28th, against Stony Brook in Fairfield, CT.  NEC play will begin the weekend of October 4th.

The 2015 NEC Championship will take place November 6 and 8 at the campus of the top seeded team. The top four finishers, based on Conference winning percentage, will compete in a two-day, single-elimination tournament.

Last fall, Central Connecticut became only the second team in NEC history to win it all after entering the NEC Tournament as the No. 3 seed.  The championship was the first since 2008 for the Blue Devils, who hold the all-time NEC mark with eight titles since the conference began sponsoring the sport back in 1995.

Under four-time NEC Coach of the Year Mick D’Arcy - now in his 16th year in New Britain - the Blue Devils return sophomore defender Jen Cafferky (Boras, Sweden/Sven Erikssons Gymnasiet), who was the first player in league history to be named NEC Defensive Player of the Year and NEC Rookie of the Year in the same season. The 2014 NEC Goalkeeper of the Year Nicki Turley (Henrietta, NY/Rush-Henrietta) enters her junior campaign looking to repeat the success of last season when she recorded a 1.04 goals against average and posted six shutouts.  NEC Tournament MVP Charlie Branch (Norwich, England/Monroe College), a senior midfielder who scored the game-winner in CCSU’s title match win over FDU, is also back in the fold.

Eric Teepe enters his second year at Fairleigh Dickinson coming off the program’s first NEC regular season title since 2004 and first-ever championship game appearance.

The Knights return a number of key players to the pitch, including three first team All-NEC selections in redshirt junior striker Rachel Hoekstra (Bowmanville, Ontario/Clarington Central), senior forward Carly Tice (Highland Falls, NY/James I. O’Neil) and senior midfielder Amanda Goulet (Quebec City, Quebec/Shattuck-St. Mary’s).  Hoekstra ranked second in the NEC in goals (12) and points (25) a year ago, and all three finished in the NEC top-10 in scoring.

Saint Francis U is looking to get back on top under the leadership of recently announced co-captains senior Kelly Beegle (Bedford, PA/Bedford) and junior Siobhan Bross (Danville, PA/ Danville Area). The Red Flash also return sophomore forward Gabi Morales (Madrid, Spain/Colegio La Inmaculada-Marillac), who was selected to the All-NEC second team and All-Rookie team. Morales led SFU with five assists on the year. Sophomore forward Allison LaDuke (Greensburg, PA/Greater Larobe) joined Morales on the All-Rookie team and was second on the team in goals (four), one of which was a game winner against Wagner.

Wagner is coming off a historic 2014 season after finishing 4-1-2 in conference play and making the program’s first NEC tournament appearance since 1997. Mike Minielli, who was tabbed NEC Coach of the Year by his peers, returns leading scorer Johanna Konrad (Volkach, Germany/LSH), a senior midfielder.  Konrad paced the Seahawks with seven goals and 15 points last season.  She was named second team All-NEC at year’s end.

Sacred Heart returns junior forward Emily Dawidczyk (Oxford, MA/Oxford) and sophomore defender Kim McNally (Canton, MA/Canton), a pair of 2014 second team All-NEC picks. Dawidczyk took a big step forward in her career and finished with seven goals to rank second on the team and fourth in the league. McNally had an impressive rookie season, playing and starting in all 19 games for the Pioneers.

LIU Brooklyn brings back junior midfielder and second team All-NEC honoree Madison Gomez (Fountain Valley, CA/Fountain Valley), who played in all 19 games and led the Blackbirds with seven goals. Her five goals in conference play tied for first in the NEC.

Bryant is now under the guidance of first year head coach Andrew Biggs. Biggs most recently spent five seasons as a men’s assistant at Brown, helping lead the Bears to one Ivy League Championship and three straight NCAA appearances.  Junior keeper Kaylan Conrad (Avon, CT/Avon) earned second team All-NEC status last season after ranking second in the league with 5.6 saves per game.

Robert Morris returns sophomore Kayla Kelley (Halifax, PA/Halifax), who played 98 percent of the team’s total minutes while resting for only 39 minutes her entire freshman season. She was picked to the All-NEC first team and All-Rookie team as a defender.

Mount St. Mary’s brings back senior midfielder Emma Blair (Shillington, PA/Governor Mifflin), who paced the team with four goals and eight points a year ago. She also finished second on the Mount with 23 shots last season.

About the Northeast Conference
Now in its 35th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30).  Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Google+, all @NECsports.